International

Yara Acquires Company Specialized in Air Pollution ReductionYara (Oslo, Norway) strengthens its position in the area of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions control systems by acquiring H+H Umwelt- und Industrietechnik GmbH (Hargesheim, Germany).

This new partnership has already seen more than 400 UKHO people enrolled as IMarEST members. Membership supports career level framework as well as the professional and technical development of UKHO staff.

The contract is for two years in 2014 and 2015 and includes the full external inspection of the two pipelines using ROV and ROTV methodologies. DeepOcean plans to use its vessel Deep Vision for the 2014 campaign. The expected duration of work is four to six months each year.

Based on the original SubConn circular series, SubConn micro connectors were developed to suit the compact design of underwater instruments, equipment and systems. The connectors are a solution for ROV, ocean science, defense, diving, underwater camera, lighting and leisure applications.

Renewable Energy Village Site to be Built on Contaminated Land
Land exposed to radiation after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant meltdown has been proposed as the site for solar panels to help with the region's agriculture industry. The project will consist of plants harvested under solar panels, which will boost agricultural production and allow energy to be sold to local utilities.

Wind turbines may also be in the future for the city of Minamisoma in Japan.

Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG is New Corporate Name for Tognum AG
The former Tognum AG will now operate under the name of Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG (Friedrichshafen, Germany). Since March 2013, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Rolls-Royce plc (London, England) and Daimler AG (Stuttgart, Germany), each of which has a 50 percent shareholding. Regional companies will also operate under new names.

Sea-Wolf 3 ROV DeliveredShark Marine Technologies Inc. (St.Catharines, Canada) recently delivered the enhanced Sea-Wolf 3 ROV system to the State Oceanic Administration of China (SOA). The SOA will use the Sea-Wolf 3 to perform marine scientific surveys and research activities. The SOA is responsible for overseeing marine construction projects, submarine engineering projects and routine coastal surveillance.

The Sea-Wolf 3 system was designed for increased modularity and ease of maintenance and configurations. The Sea-Wolf 3 has an increased payload, an external pan/tilt platform and an open-frame design to allow more flow to the thrusters and less drag in currents.

Korean Register Signs Agreements with Busan Port and Danish Maritime AuthoritiesThe Korean Register of Shipping (KR), based in Busan, Korea, and the Busan Port Authority (BPA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on environmental initiatives and other maritime activities. The MoU allows both parties to cooperate and consult on the development of an evaluation index for eco-friendly ships and green-ship verification services. Cooperation will also extend to new and renewable energy sectors, such as solar energy, wind energy and initiatives for assisting local business expansion. In addition, the port and the class society will work together on activities related to polar shipping and the northern sea routes.

KR has also signed an agreement with the Danish Maritime Authority enabling the Korean classification society to survey and certify Danish ships. This brings the total number of countries where KR is authorized to carry out ship survey and certification work to 66. KR, in accordance with this agreement, is now able to carry out relevant surveys, audits and issue certificates to Danish and Greenland ships for SOLAS, MARPOL, ITC, ILL, ISM, ISPS and MLC.

Marine Equipment Specialist Expands
An Aberdeen, Scotland-based marine equipment specialist has made an investment in two new premises. Motive Offshore, which is headquartered in Boyndie, has launched a new office in Aberdeen and a base in Stavanger, Norway.

The organization manufactures and hires modern marine deck equipment, including winches, hydraulic power units, and associated wire spooling equipment and sheaves.

Experiencing a significant growth since its inception in 2010, Motive now has a team of 76 employees across the three sites.

ClassNK Opens Survey Office in CasablancaClassNK (Tokyo, Japan) has established a new survey office in Casablanca, Morocco. The Casablanca office began operating on January 1, 2014.

Located on the Atlantic Ocean in northern Africa, Casablanca is Morocco's largest city and one of North Africa's largest ports. The new ClassNK Casablanca office will strengthen ClassNK's service network in the region and cover surveys at ports across Morocco, as well as support clients and shipowners in northwestern Africa and the western Mediterranean. The Casablanca office joins an existing network of 11 offices in the Mediterranean region and is ClassNK's sixth office in Africa.

BOURBON Achieves $770 Million for Vessel Sales in 2013BOURBON (Paris, France) has transferred ownership of 12 vessels to ICBC Financial Leasing (ICBCL), based in Beijing, China, for about $378 million as part of the sale and bareboat charter agreement for up to 51 vessels. With the nine vessels already transferred in September 2013 as part of the agreement, this brings the total number of vessels transferred to ICBCL to 21. The transfer of the remaining maximum 30 vessels should take place during the first half of 2014.

At the end of November 2013, BOURBON signed an agreement with Standard Chartered Bank for the sale and bareboat charter of six newbuild vessels for a total amount of approximately $150 million. The ownership of three vessels has been transferred.

Consent Granted for Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm Planning
The application made in September 2013 by Dudgeon Offshore Wind to the U.K.'s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to vary the offshore planning consent for the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm has now been approved. The original planning consent was granted in 2012. These variations were requested following a review of the design of the offshore wind farm site undertaken after the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm project was acquired by Statoil (Stavanger, Norway) and Statkraft (Oslo, Norway).

This review raised concerns relating to the stability of the wind turbine foundations due to areas of mobile sand waves across the site and the chalk structure of the subsea bed.

Seatronics Reaches Century of SalesSeatronics (Aberdeen, Scotland) has sold the 100th Gen 5 MUX. These systems, which are designed and manufactured by RTS ('krehamn, Norway) and sold through Seatronics' global network, are recognized among the ROV and subsea survey communities.

A benefit of using the Gen 5 MUX includes the time saved in mobilizing and interfacing various survey sensors. Additionally, the Gen 5 MUX eliminates much of the troubleshooting and trial-and-error testing while setting up subsea communications, which provides cost savings. It has standardized cabling, employs C-WDM techniques and has 3,000-meter-rated titanium housing.

Further Newbuilds for NavigatorNavigator Gas (London, England) will construct a 22,000-cubic-meter gas carrier at Jiangnan Shipyard Co. Ltd. (Shanghai, China), with the vessel scheduled for delivery in March 2016. Navigator has entered into a contract with Jiangnan to construct a 35,000-cubic-meter gas carrier for delivery in April 2016. This vessel will be the largest ethane gas carrier on the market, enabling transportation for petrochemical feedstock. The company has an option for the construction of up to three more vessels.

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